In an unexpected turn of events, Pixar and Disney’s new film Lightyear came in second place at the US box office behind holdover Jurassic World Dominion on Father’s Day weekend.
It’s the first time since the epidemic began that three big Hollywood tentpoles have performed well (Top Gun: Maverick is the third). As a result, domestic revenue was anticipated to be $166 million, down just 18% from the previous year (usually, that gap has been much bigger). However, it’s unclear whether the box office has recovered sufficiently to support such a large number of releases.
With a $70 million to $85 million opening, it was predicted that Lightyear would take the top spot. Instead, the Toy Story sequel drew $51 million from 4,255 theatres, a dismal result. While it’s a good start for the COVID-19 era — and the biggest opening for an animated family picture during the pandemic — Lightyear’s start is disappointing, especially given that it bears the legendary Pixar emblem.
The film is not scheduled to be released in China, and areas of the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia, have banned it due to a same-gender kiss. The scene, which features the female character Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her partner, was originally cut from the film but was upheld and after the upheaval over a statement from Pixar employees alleging that Disney had been censoring “overtly gay affection” and Universal studios CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In the genesis story, Chris Evans takes up the role of the renowned Space Ranger, which was formerly played by Tim Allen. After many of Pixar’s animated family films were pushed to Disney+ because to the COVID-19 epidemic, Lightyear marks the studio’s comeback to the big screen. As the box office continues to rebound, Lightyear serves as a test for the health of the family market.
The animated picture now has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 78 percent, which is on the lower end of the scale for a Pixar release, especially one from the Toy Story franchise. Audiences, on the other hand, awarded it a CinemaScore of A.
Eventually winning the audience prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, British comedy Brian and Charles debuted to $830,000 from 279 locations for a lukewarm per location average of $711 at the specialty box office. According to sources, Focus Features bought the picture out of Sundance for a reasonable sum.
